Friday, June 26, 2009

Hearing

Hearing and vision are intimately linked at the brain level . Age-related degradation in one system leads to degradation in the other . Likewise training .

Discussion .

1.The alphabet .

Each symbol is associated with a sound and drilled in through repetition .Visual and auditory systems are linked at a very fundamental level . This is a feedback system , so it is impossible to establish which is the driver (cause) . Most likely , the alphabet evolved to mirror hearing loss in old age . Consonants (higher frequencies) are the first to go , so the most frequent sounds that survive are vowels (e,a,r,i,o) . You will notice that r is not a vowel . It is unique .It is not confused with any other sound , regardless of frequency . It is coupled with L . Note that Chinese usually do not have R an L simultaneously . It seems to be a characteristic of tonal languages , since both can be any frequency (R can be seen as a modified L , or vice versa)

A name like "R*LL*R*R" etc will be unforgettable at any age .

If you merge the consonant discrimination loss ( see http://www.deafened.org/consconf.htm ) with English frequency of alphabetical letters , you see that that lower sound frequency of vowels are associated with a higher frequency of occurrence in the language . This is to be expected .

Sounds usually and normally confused in decreasing order (one can play around endlessly with these figures)

k,p,t

m.n

g,d,b

f,th

These cover most of the discrimination loss area .

The alphabet is a boiled-down version of the minimum necessary to communicate . It has an intimate connection with the muscle-memory structures of the mouth , epiglottis and lungs .

The visual component (letters) has been drilled in through decades of reading .

This is a double-edged sword . Loss of discrimination in the visual area brings about loss of discrimination in the auditory area and vice-versa . The brain centers are relatively far apart , but linked via brain-rhythms . This linkage can be utilized or disrupted .

There is a feedback mechanism between loss of vision and loss of hearing .

Inversely . bettering one will better the other .

Reading aloud , poetry and stochastic resonance .

As these systems degrade , stochastic resonance (a very old evolutionary mechanism used in all sorts of balancing body-systems) surfaces . Tinnitus in hearing , blurriness in vision , unsteadiness in balance.

Essentially , it is a system to get meaning by adding chaos .

In hearing , it is a continuous background noise(interpreted by the brain as a whine) . Bodily balance is also affected , since the same mechanism is used by the neurons in the foot-soles and calves for balance .

Visual systems are affected as a blurriness .

Note that this has nothing to do with the effectiveness of the primary proprioceptors . It is the learned way the brain has that needs retraining .

Bodily balance is effected by unsteadiness .

Sub-vocalizationAll humans use sub-vocalization , either on reading or in internal dialogue between mirror-networks . This involves only low-frequency sounds . As expected , the discrimination of high-frequency drops off as a power-law over time .

Note above about the uncertainty about the driver of degradation of high-frequency receptors .

The higher mutation rate of memes due to bad hearing in old age may play a crucial role .

The Grand-Mother effectTalking aloud to babies and listening to the high-frequency responses triggers stem-cell growth and retardation of apoptosis .

This can and is faked . Pets .

Internal hearing .

Every person hears perfectly well internally . It is the external projection that might be lacking .

This is mirrored on listening . If the external hearing has to be filtered through internal hearing muscle memory (ie mimic what the other person is saying) , you have a problem .

The Training Regimen .

1.The easiest and cheapest is simply to read some poetry aloud . No audience is required , but it has to be aloud .

2.Itarin has been modified to do this . I will let you know the result after the next audiogram .

The absolute minimum :

"The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."

Read this aloud . Repeatedly .

Poetry is better .

Ridiculous as it might seem , this will better your hearing and vision .

Isn't logic wonderful ?

Andre

Hearing .

Andre Willers

24 Jun 2009

Synopsis .

Hearing and vision are intimately linked at the brain level . Age-related degradation in one system leads to degradation in the other . Likewise training .

Discussion .

1.The alphabet .

Each symbol is associated with a sound and drilled in through repetition .Visual and auditory systems are linked at a very fundamental level . This is a feedback system , so it is impossible to establish which is the driver (cause) . Most likely , the alphabet evolved to mirror hearing loss in old age . Consonants (higher frequencies) are the first to go , so the most frequent sounds that survive are vowels (e,a,r,i,o) . You will notice that r is not a vowel . It is unique .It is not confused with any other sound , regardless of frequency . It is coupled with L . Note that Chinese usually do not have R an L simultaneously . It seems to be a characteristic of tonal languages , since both can be any frequency (R can be seen as a modified L , or vice versa)

A name like "R*LL*R*R" etc will be unforgettable at any age .

If you merge the consonant discrimination loss ( see http://www.deafened.org/consconf.htm ) with English frequency of alphabetical letters , you see that that lower sound frequency of vowels are associated with a higher frequency of occurrence in the language . This is to be expected .

Sounds usually and normally confused in decreasing order (one can play around endlessly with these figures)

k,p,t

m.n

g,d,b

f,th

These cover most of the discrimination loss area .

The alphabet is a boiled-down version of the minimum necessary to communicate . It has an intimate connection with the muscle-memory structures of the mouth , epiglottis and lungs .

The visual component (letters) has been drilled in through decades of reading .

This is a double-edged sword . Loss of discrimination in the visual area brings about loss of discrimination in the auditory area and vice-versa . The brain centers are relatively far apart , but linked via brain-rhythms . This linkage can be utilized or disrupted .

There is a feedback mechanism between loss of vision and loss of hearing .

Inversely . bettering one will better the other .

Reading aloud , poetry and stochastic resonance .

As these systems degrade , stochastic resonance (a very old evolutionary mechanism used in all sorts of balancing body-systems) surfaces . Tinnitus in hearing , blurriness in vision , unsteadiness in balance.

Essentially , it is a system to get meaning by adding chaos .

In hearing , it is a continuous background noise(interpreted by the brain as a whine) . Bodily balance is also affected , since the same mechanism is used by the neurons in the foot-soles and calves for balance .

Visual systems are affected as a blurriness .

Note that this has nothing to do with the effectiveness of the primary proprioceptors . It is the learned way the brain has that needs retraining .

Bodily balance is effected by unsteadiness .

Sub-vocalizationAll humans use sub-vocalization , either on reading or in internal dialogue between mirror-networks . This involves only low-frequency sounds . As expected , the discrimination of high-frequency drops off as a power-law over time .

Note above about the uncertainty about the driver of degradation of high-frequency receptors .

The higher mutation rate of memes due to bad hearing in old age may play a crucial role .

The Grand-Mother effectTalking aloud to babies and listening to the high-frequency responses triggers stem-cell growth and retardation of apoptosis .

This can and is faked . Pets .

Internal hearing .

Every person hears perfectly well internally . It is the external projection that might be lacking .

This is mirrored on listening . If the external hearing has to be filtered through internal hearing muscle memory (ie mimic what the other person is saying) , you have a problem .

The Training Regimen .

1.The easiest and cheapest is simply to read some poetry aloud . No audience is required , but it has to be aloud .

2.Itarin has been modified to do this . I will let you know the result after the next audiogram .

The absolute minimum :

"The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."

Read this aloud . Repeatedly .

Poetry is better .

Ridiculous as it might seem , this will better your hearing and vision .